Langer, AnjaI was born in the city of Stuttgart in Southern Germany on 3 June 1965, and I grew up in a nearby town, called Boeblingen, in a house that was right next to a forest. During that time I conducted a lot of outdoor activities, which might explain my still existing fascination for nature. At a very young age I discovered that my talents and strengths were in physical activities. My first passion was for gymnastics.

At the age of eight, I became an active member of the gymnastics association and participatedsuccessfully in several competitions. I also competed in show fora horseback riding club. As my family owned two horses, riding was a natural choice for me. From early in my childhood, physical activity had been an important and rewarding part of my life. My need for variety also became apparent at that time.

During my teenage years, other sports captured my curiosity. I tried diving when I was 14. Within a year I was able to dive off the 10-meter platform. Then, with my curiosity about diving being satisfied, I took up jazz dance.

I was filled with enthusiasm for jazz dance. I loved the music, the motion, the expression, and the performing. It was during that period that I met my first love and the young man who introduced me to bodybuilding. Armin is still a very good friend of mine, and I am grateful to him for providing me with a solid foundation in the basics of bodybuilding.

In 1980, at the age of 15, I started training with weights. At that time, I was the only girl in the gym, which didn’t bother me at all. The guys were amazed at how strong I was.

Step by step, I got into working out. For the first six months, I trained twice a week. Gradually, I increased my training to three times a week, then four times a week, and so on. Eventually, I participated in my first competition, the Baden Wurttenberg, in 1981. I placed second to last, but rather than letting it discourage me I allowed my enthusiasm and ambition to take over and trained even harder. I studied up on dieting and how to get the most from my workouts and then applied that to my training. A year later, in the same
local competition, I won second place.

At that point, bodybuilding was still a hobby for me, and my parents made sure it stayed that way. In secondary school, I took the first public examination, which allowed me to leave school and put that part of my life behind me—which I did gladly. I was ready to take on the world, but I wasn’t 18 yet. Since my parents were against my bodybuilding, I was forced to prepare for competitions secretly—a situation that only fueled my determination. It wasn’t until much later that my parents recognized that bodybuilding was part of my life’s philosophy, and that my positive outlook has been and still is a direct result of my participation in the sport. From 1983 to 1986, I studied graphic art. I have enjoyed graphics since childhood and found it a fulfilling program of study. While in school, I continued to train and compete on the side. In 1983, I placed fourth in the German championship. The following year a partner and I came in second in couple posing at an amateur world championship in Madrid, Spain. I became the Junior World champion held in Australia in 1985 and, in 1986, won both the German championship and the European championship.

When I finished my education, I decided to make my hobby into my profession. But the year of 1987 was a difficult one because my father died that year. Still, I managed to win second place at the IFBB Pro World Championship in Toronto and fourth place at that year’s Ms. Olympia competition. In 1988, I won second place at the Ms. Olympia in New York City.
After that Ms. Olympia, I decided to put the competitions on hold for a year. My goal was to win the Ms. Olympia title in 1990, and I was going to apply all my strength and ambition to achieve it. As it often happens, Mother Nature had something else in mind. So in 1990 I began to prepare for a different, though no less exciting competition: Motherhood. Throughout my pregnancy, I continued to train and followed a special diet, and in January 1991, I gave birth to my son, Elija.

In the later part of 1991, I worked together with the late Bill Reynolds on a book about bodybuilding, exercise and nutrition. In 1992, we completed it and then published it in the United States as Body Flex & Body Magic. During that year I also returned to the stage of bodybuilding, but only as a guest poser. I might not have been as muscular as during my competitive years, but the audience and my fans were enthused, and it was the most fun I ever had on stage.In 93 and 94, I participated and had a major role in two theatrical performances that were held in Stuttgart, Germany. This was a very creative experience for me, for the plays were acted out through a combination of dance and movement and involved a variety of athletic and muscular performers.From 1995 to 1998, I owned a gym, which was also located in Stuttgart. It was a very interesting experience, but I did not enjoy it very much, since I spent more time and energy with the managerial efforts than being involved with the sport of bodybuilding and fitness. At the end of 1998, I sold the gym and turned my efforts to personal training, fitness consulting and modeling.

Anja was married on September 2, 2000 to Roy Weidanz, who is a major in the United States Army. They have a boy, Lionel.

Lyon, LisaBorn 1953, in Los Angeles. Inducted into the Joe Weider's Hall of Fame in the year 2000. Lisa competed only once in her brief bodybuilding career, but what she lacked in competitite longevity, she more than made up for in helping the women's side of the sport gain initial media attention. Studied art and film at UCLA, graduated in 1976. Is accomplished in kendo (Japanese Fencing). She started weight training in order to get stronger for kendo. She became the first bodybuilding in July 1979 to be shown in a full page color photo in Muscle Builder Magazine. Wrote a book titiled "Lisa Lyon's Body Magic", published in 1981. She was the first female bodybuilder to appear in Playboy Magazine (October 1980 issue). After she won the Women's World in 1979, she held elevate the sport by becoming a one-women media relations activist on behalf of women's bodybuilding. She was chair of the first committee of the AAU Women's Physique Association in 1980.

Contests include the 1979 Women's World Bodybuilding Championships 1st; although she guest posed at several other 1979 competitions, including the 1979 Mr. Olympia. On April 9, 1980, she staged her own bodybuilding show, titled Lisa Lyon's United States Bodybuilding Championships, which Rachel McLish won.